[Nhhoa] Vandalism Prevention Suggestions

Tue Aug 28 00:41:35 CDT 2007

Hi fellow neighbors,

It is great to see so many responses to the recent report of 
vandalism at the pool.  We have a wonderful neighborhood with even 
better people!

I have added to discuss vandalism and all security options on the 
next Board meeting's agenda.

While a policing by community is a great idea, unfortunately, a web 
cam at the pool has one big problem...  potential indecency of our 
residents on the world wide web.  Even with ways to restrict the 
viewing to residents only, the potential of inappropriate use is 
unmanageable.  Therefore, we will not implement a web cam.

However, there is merit in closed circuit cameras with recorded tapes 
for evidential purposes.  If the Board selects this option, I would 
propose implementing a policy that the viewers would be restricted to 
those elected/appointed to the HOA and two persons must view the 
tapes at the same time.  Recorded tapes are great evidence in court 
and just having the cameras there is likely to ward off 
vandalism.  We have been looking into this option and I have had a 
security professional advise me of the best locations to place them, 
should we decide to implement this security measure.

The suggestion to install motion sensor lights is a great idea, and 
it worked very well at the neighborhood where I served on the Board 
for 4 years.

Moreover, a very effective method is homeowner involvement.  All 
homeowners as members of the association have a right to remind 
offenders of the rules, gather names/addresses for reporting, and of 
course, report incidents to the HOA and/or police.  All reported 
incidents must be reported by the eye witness - it must come first 
hand.  There is a Who to Contact list located in your last Newsletter 
you can keep handy / post by your phone.

To report an incident to the HOA, contact Tom Jackson, Vice 
President.  He can be reached by email at VicePresident at NHHOA.org or 
by phone (9 am - 9 pm please) at 770-606-0750.

To report an incident to the police, please call them at 
770-382-5050, any time.  Yes, a greater presence of law enforcement 
does deter vandalism.  Tom Jackson advised that the more calls our 
neighbors make to the Bartow County police, the more often they will 
tour the neighborhood.  So, if you see anything that constitutes 
police involvement, please call them!

You are correct that having all residents aware and alert will help 
identify the perpetrators as well as deter them as word gets out that 
we are watching for them and protecting our investments.  Homeowners 
- spread the word for everyone to look at the amenities as we drive 
by for suspicious activity.

The Community Outreach Committee is planning to restart the 
Neighborhood Watch program, and I'm glad to see that they will get a 
lot of support!  If you would like to participate in the Neighborhood 
Watch program, please contact Kimberly Hackler at COC at NHHOA.org.

Thanks for the suggestions, please keep them coming!

Amy Figueras
NHHOA President

Note: previous suggestions replied to are captured below:

>Worth checking into, but where would the camera go?  Again, anything 
>we put down there is subject to vandalism.
>
>Vicki
>13 Vineyard

>What about some sort of a webcam setup that we could all 'watch' by 
>way of internet?  I would check that quite frequently; when you see 
>something happening, call the police.......have no idea of the cost 
>for such an endeavor?
>
>Dan Herring
>39 Centerport

>Since the pool area should be closed at night and no should be 
>around and if the area is secure enough to keep animals out, why not 
>install motion sensor lights that would come on when triggered that 
>would alert homeowners in that area that something was up and call 
>someone to investigate.  The light could be hung high enough that 
>they could not be damaged easily.  The lights would not burn all the 
>time so as not to burn electricity.
>Just thought I would suggest it.
>Florence Athens

>  my wife and i have spoken about it together and brainstormed. we 
> both believe that it would be good to get law enforcement involved. 
> even if it is something as simple as having uniformed police knock 
> on some doors and ask if anyone may have heard or seen anything. 
> just doing something like that can sometimes shake the bushes 
> enough to scare some people that may know something, or even have 
> someone come forward with some information. we all need to be on 
> the look out. houses around the pool area have the potential to 
> catch these people red handed if we will just be more aware. it may 
> also be helpful to explore the option of surveillance equipment. 
> though it would probably be premature to put equipment up at this 
> point, it would be nice to know some options and prices in that 
> direction. but overall, this neighborhood is no different than any 
> neighborhood in the sense that if we want it to be a good one, we 
> are going to have to take charge of it, and be proactive in keeping it
>up and keeping the bad stuff out. if we don't do those two things, 
>we only have ourselves to blame. i know speaking for myself, i will 
>be keeping a close eye out for anything suspisious and if i see 
>anything at all that even looks questionable i will take action.
>
>  jamie reynolds for the reynolds family at 35 harbor ln.

>Roger   Are we filing police reports on this vandilism? If we are 
>not then maybe we should and maybe if the police dept. gets tired of 
>writing reports they will also become proactive in the neighborhood.
>~Robert
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